Mission prep

Story Highlights

Noncommissioned officer conducts pre-combat inspections

Staff Sgt. Randy Matz of Battery B, 1st Battalion, 377th Field Artillery Regiment shows a Soldier on how to properly clear his weapon before heading out on a counter IDF mission in Basra, Iraq, Jan. 21. Battery B, a unit in 17th Fires Brigade, 34th Infantry Division, has been tasked with the mission of talking to the people In Basra to deny the enemy a vantage point to attack the base.

Staff Sgt. Randy Matz of Battery B, 1st Battalion, 377th Field Artillery Regiment shows a Soldier on how to properly clear his weapon before heading out on a counter IDF mission in Basra, Iraq, Jan. 21. Battery B, a unit in 17th Fires Brigade, 34th Infantry Division, has been tasked with the mission of talking to the people In Basra to deny the enemy a vantage point to attack the base.